Active angiogenesis is a hallmark of malignant tumors, and aHSCs can induce HCC angiogenesis through several angiogenic factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiogenin1 (ANG1) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) [17, 23]. The gene discussed is CXCL8; the disease is hepatocellular carcinoma.